Giant is usually known for staid colors and graphics, but this bike’s neon red and chrome accents stand out.

Not so Giant

No massive tube dimensions here, but this is one of the stiffest road race bikes we’ve ridden.

Butt Mileage May Vary

The narrow and minimalist Giant saddle is sleek—not so popular with our testers, but if it works for you, great.

Make Way for Data

The nondrive chainstay is prepped for Giant’s RideSense+ speed and cadence sensor.

Noise Maker

The rear-brake hose rattled and buzzed inside the down tube in some situations.

Giant’s TCR Advanced is a sleeper of a race bike. With an understated frame (by modern standards) from a brand that’s not as showy as its competitors, the TCR lights up on the road. Not only does this bike feel like it was made to rip up climbs, but it’s also one of the best descending road bikes I’ve ever ridden.

The 2016 TCR Advanced SL 0 remains one of my favorite race bikes (the Bicycling staff feels the same, which is why it was an Editors’ Choice winner). It’s one of those bikes that, as a bike tester for more than 20 years I can say, sticks in my memory as a true standout.

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The TCR Advanced Pro 0 Disc reviewed here evolved from a frame that was originally designed as a rim-brake bike. But discs won’t be denied, so there are now five disc-brake TCR models. The TCR Disc has largely the same profile, the same features, and even identical geometry to the rim-brake version, including the short 405mm chainstays. Disc adaptations are limited to 12mm thru-axles, flat-mount disc calipers, and disc-specific brake-hose routing.

Giant–which owns its own carbon-manufacturing facilities and even weaves its own carbon materials in-house–offers several grades of TCR frame. This TCR is built on the second-tier Advanced Pro series frameset, which is heavier than the top-tier Advanced SL frame but features a more convenient, adjustable seatpost (the highest-end frame has an integrated seatmast)—a feature that, should the time ever come, makes handing this bike down or selling it an easier proposition.

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The TCR Advanced Pro 0 Disc has flashy chrome and neon red accents.

Trevor Raab

The TCR Disc Family

Giant offers five TCR Disc models priced from $2,425 to $10,400. Three different framesets are employed.

At the top end, there are three models that use Giant’s lightest and most expensive Advanced SL composite in the frame and fork: the TCR Advanced SL Disc ($6,325), TCR Advanced SL 0 Disc-Red eTap ($8,415 ), and TCR Advanced SL 0 Disc-DA Di2 ($10,400). The Advanced SL frame also has an integrated seatmast, which Giant representatives claim is both lighter and offers a smoother ride than an adjustable seatpost.

The TCR Advanced Pro 0 ($5,100), the bike reviewed here, uses Giant’s Advanced (no “SL”) composite in the frame and fork—with a full carbon steerer and an adjustable, teardrop-shaped seatpost.

The least expensive model—the TCR Advanced 1 Disc-KOM—costs $2,425 and uses the same Advanced frame as the bike reviewed here, but has a less expensive fork with an aluminum steerer.

All bikes have Giant tubeless-ready wheelsets and tires, which come from the factory already set up, along with bottles of sealant. All models use Giant-brand handlebars, stems, and saddles—with the highest-end bikes using carbon bars and stems, and the others using aluminum.

Big Steerer

Giant’s road bikes use forks with a 1.25-inch upper steerer diameter (instead of the common 1.125-inch standard). The extra-oversize steerer is said to improve stiffness and handling, which also means that you’re limited to stem choices.

The bottom bracket uses the press-fit 86 standard. TCR frames have internal routing that is compatible with either cable-actuated or electronic drivetrains.

The 405mm chainstays are as short as you’ll find on a disc-brake road bike.

Trevor Raab

Check Out Those Short Chainstays

The TCR Disc’s geometry is straightforward: It’s a race bike, and the geometry reflects that. Like most of the category, it’s designed for a longer, lower riding position and highly reactive handling.

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The 405mm chainstays, which are the same length on the rim-brake frame, are on the short side for a race-oriented disc frame. Most disc-brake road-race frames have 410mm stays, mainly to provide a straighter chainline for a better-shifting drivetrain. However, Shimano’s latest disc-brake groups–like the Ultegra Di2 found on the TCR Advanced Pro 0–have an adjusted inner chainring position to offset the more outboard position of the cassette due to the wider spacing of a disc-brake hub (135mm; road-bike rim-brake wheels use 130mm spacing). Our bike shifted flawlessly and was quiet in the big cog/big ring combo.

It’s unlikely anyone would notice a handling difference between an otherwise identical bike with 410 or 405mm chainstays (for reference, 5 millimeters is the thickness of three shiny, new quarters). But, if it matters to you, the TCR disc has some of the shortest chainstays available on a disc-equipped road bike and is one of few bikes whose disc- and rim-brake frames have the same geometry.

Courtesy Giant

Ultegra Di2 FTW!

A Shimano Ultegra Di2 disc-brake group handles the stop and go. It’s hard to say enough about how good and consistent this groups is: It’s that good.

All other parts come from Giant, including a wheelset with carbon rims, and Giant’s 25mm-wide tires (set up tubeless from the factory).

Shimano’s Ultegra Di2 drivetrain is phenomenal.

Trevor Raab

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One Ride and You Will Know It’s a Race Bike

The ride of this bike did not surprise us: It’s as stiff and sharp as the rim-brake TCR, and the extra control the disc brakes offer only enhance its reputation as a downhill demon.

This TCR was built to be a race bike–it’s the bike most of the Giant-sponsored Sunweb WorldTour Team rides–and it rides like it: quick and angry but also reassuringly solid. If you want a bike that feels as fast as it is, you’ll find it here.

But this TCR also has a bit of a first-generation-disc ride: somewhat harsh and choppy, and a little numb. After doing some detective work and parts swaps, we can assign at least some of the blame to the fork, which is less-compliant than the one on the TCR rim-brake frames.

The tires are part of the issue as well. They’re somewhat stiff riding and slow feeling, and well behind the performance of the best tubeless road tires on the market.

No rider went so far as to call the TCR Advanced Pro 0 punishing or uncomfortable, but where Giant’s competitors have figured out how to build (and/or spec) disc-brake bikes so they ride at least as smooth as their rim-brake models, this TCR Disc doesn’t have the same fluidity and liveliness that makes the rim-brake TCR such a remarkable bike.

There’s also the matter of the rear disc-brake hose rattling inside the down tube. Again, something Giant’s competitors have sorted, and something that should be a nonissue on a $5,100 bike.

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The 2017 version of this bike (called the TCR Advanced Pro 1 Disc) won an Editors’ Choice award. It was—compared with what was expected of bikes in that category at the time—a class-leading bike. But disc-brake road bikes are evolving quickly, and the benchmark has moved. The 2018 model—which is largely unchanged, save for the new Ultegra group—just doesn’t have the refined ride we’ve come to expect in a class-leading bike.

Overall, however, there’s a lot to like about the TCR Advanced Pro 0 Disc. For $5,100, you get race-bike performance, great handling, and an excellent drivetrain and brakes. And with neon red and chrome highlights, there’s even a bit of swagger.

Trevor Raab

matt phillipsSenior Test Editor, BicyclingMatt is Bicycling’s senior test editor, and has been testing for Bicycling and its related titles since 1995.

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